Electronic finding aid was encoded in EAD 2002 by Rachel S. Harrison in March, 2016. Description is in English.

This collection
consists of the papers of Nathan Perlmutter, a lawyer, lecturer, author, political activist, and
a long-time leader of the American Jewish community. It contains certificates, newspaper clippings,
correspondence—including numerous condolence cards and letters sent to his family after his
death—manuscripts and drafts of Perlmutter’s writings, obituaries, printed materials, programs, and
subject files relating to topics he was interested in and that he wrote about.

Languages:

The
collection is in English,
with some Yiddish,
Hebrew,
German,
Spanish,
and Italian.

Nathan Perlmutter was born March 2, 1923 in New York City to Hyman and Bella (Finkelstein) Perlmutter, who were both immigrants from Poland. His father was a
tailor and worked as a laborer for the Work Projects Administration during the Depression. His mother sold ices from a pushcart and sewed leather purses
in a sweatshop. His father left the family when Nathan and his younger brother, Philip, were 16 and 13, respectively. After graduating from Eastern District
High School in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Perlmutter took the civil service exam at age 19. This allowed him to find a job as a clerk-typist at the War Department
in the Pentagon while also enrolled at Georgetown University School of Diplomatic and Consular Practice, which he attended from 1942-1943. He also studied
at Villanova College from 1943-1944. He volunteered for the Marine Corps and served in Guam and China from 1945-1946. After the war, he attended New York
University School of Law and received a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1949.

Following law school, Perlmutter joined the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of B’nai B’rith in 1949. The ADL was founded in 1913 in order to "end defamation of
Jews and secure justice and fair treatment for all citizens alike." He was assigned to a post as the ADL’s assistant executive director of civil rights and
community relations in Denver, where he moved along with his wife, Ruth Ann (Osofsky), whom he had married April 2, 1943, and their daughter Nina. Their son,
Dean, was born in Denver. From Denver, Perlmutter and his family moved to Detroit in 1952, where Perlmutter was the director of the ADL’s Michigan and Toledo,
Ohio region. In 1953, he was once again promoted, this time to assistant director of community service for the ADL’s national office in New York. The family
then moved to Miami in 1956, where Perlmutter was the director of the Florida region for eight years before returning to New York in 1964, where he was the
regional director until 1965. In 1963, he was invited with 11 other ADL leaders to the Federal Republic of Germany to conduct a month-long study of democracy,
human relations and the government’s program combating anti-Semitism in the schools and military.

In March 1965, Perlmutter became the assistant director of domestic affairs of the American Jewish Committee, where he ultimately rose to the position of
associate national director. He left the American Jewish Committee in 1969 and moved to a position as the vice president of development at Brandeis University
in Waltham, MA until 1973. He returned to the ADL in 1973 as the assistant national director and was promoted to national director in 1979. As the director,
Perlmuter was responsible for overseeing the ADL's national headquarters in Manhattan, its 31 regional offices in the United States, its overseas offices in
Jerusalem, Rome and Paris, and its liaison offices in Latin America.

Throughout his career with the ADL, as well as with the American Jewish Committee, Perlmutter was a strong advocate for American Jews and their interests and
worked to promote justice, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. He was often outspoken and did not shy away from controversy, as is evidenced by his
interactions with Louis Farrakhan and Jesse Jackson and his positions on topics such as Israel and the Middle East, affirmative action, anti-Semitism, the Ku
Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, and American politics. He published articles in Commentary, New Leader,
The Nation, Present Tense, Moment, and The National Review.
He was the author of How to Win at the Races (1964), inspired by his and his wife’s love of horse racing. Their horse, Ruthie's Native,
won the Florida Derby in 1977. Perlmutter also wrote A Bias of Reflections: Confessions of an Incipient Old Jew (1972). He and
his wife, Ruth Ann, co-authored The Real Anti-Semitism in America (1982), in which they argued that anti-Zionism and political
isolation of Israel were bigger threats to American Jews than the renewal of activities by overtly anti-Semitic groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.

Perlmutter received numerous awards for his work combating racism, bigotry, discrimination, intolerance, and anti-Semitism. These include the B'nai B'rith
International Presidential Gold Medallion for Humanitarianism in January 1987; an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion in New York in March 1987; the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award in May 1987, from Mayor Edward Koch of New York; and the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award, in June 1987 from President Reagan.

Perlmutter was diagnosed with lung cancer in June 1985. He kept a journal for a few weeks after the diagnosis, which was published in the November 24, 1985
New York Times Magazine as "Diary of a Cancer Patient." He continued his work as the director of the ADL, first from his office
and then from his home until he entered the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on July 8, 1987. He died Sunday, July 12, 1987 at age 64.

This collection consists of the papers of Nathan Perlmutter, mainly concerning his career with the Anti-Defamation League, both in regional positions and on
the national scale. It contains newspaper clippings and subject files relating to topics Perlmutter was interested in and that he wrote about as well as reviews
of his writings and of his professional activities. The correspondence in the collection contains letters of appreciation, invitations, a few out-going ADL
mailings, and numerous condolence cards and letters sent to his family after his death. There are also manuscripts and drafts of Perlmutter’s two books related
to Jewish topics, A Bias of Reflections and The Real Anti-Semitism in America, and of articles he
wrote for various publications. In addition, there are obituaries, certificates from various awards and honors that Perlmutter received, printed materials,
and a few programs.

The correspondence and clippings have been arranged chronologically while the drafts, subject files, and obituaries and condolences have been arranged alphabetically.
Materials that were originally found in organized folders have been left together and these folder titles have been maintained. The collection has been arranged
in five series.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Collections and Engagement of the American Jewish Historical Society,
except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of
Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply
in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript
materials found in this collection. For more information, contact: American
Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New
York, NY, 10011 email: reference@ajhs.org

The Center’s reading room has numerous books, pamphlets and archival collections related to the Anti-Defamation League, B’nai B’rith, anti-Semitism, and civil rights.
The American Jewish Historical Society library has copies of A Bias of Reflections and The Real Anti-Semitism in America,
as well as "Not the Work of a Day": Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith Oral Memoirs, which contains an oral history by Perlmutter.
The YIVO library has a copy of The Negro Revolution and the Jewish Community: An Address, by Leonard J. Fein, which contains remarks by
Perlmutter and which can also be found in the collection.

Processed by Rachel S. Harrison as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation. Items were removed from binders
and the entire collection was transferred into acid-free folders and boxes. Loose clippings have been integrated into folders by date. Several books, including bound
copies of selected ADL Bulletins, were deaccessioned.

Arrangement:

The correspondence has been arranged chronologically. Some of the folders are arranged by year only and some by month and year. Some folders are arranged chronologically from front to back and some are arranged from back to front, so that December comes before November, and so on.

Scope and Content:

The correspondence in this series consists of mostly in-coming mail, much of it congratulations relating to awards and honors Perlmutter received, as well as other professional accomplishments. There is also personal and professional correspondence and a few invitations.

Scope and Content:

This series contains drafts of A Bias of Reflections and The Real Anti-Semitism in America, a draft of an article about Morris U. Schappes and notes for various articles Perlmutter wrote and lectures he delivered.

Scope and Content:

The clippings in this series include articles by and about Perlmutter and the Anti-Defamation League as well as articles relating to Perlmutter’s areas of interest. Some of the topics are also represented in the subject files series. Researchers interested in specific topics should look in both the clippings and the subject files series. There are also some reviews of Perlmutter’s writings. Many of the news clippings in this series were originally in chronologically-organized binders. Loose clippings were integrated by date.

Scope and Content:

This series is arranged alphabetically and then chronologically. These subject files relate to topics Perlmutter was personally and professionally interested in, many of which he wrote about for various publications, and include clippings and notes. Many of these topics are also represented in the clippings series and there are possibly duplicates between these series. There are also some personal records and event programs.

Scope and Content:

Among the notable individuals who sent condolences are American and Israeli political figures such as Mario Cuomo, Alfonse D’Amato, Edward Kennedy, Teddy Kollek, Daniel Moynihan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, and Ronald Reagan; and various religious and community figures, including the Bishop of Palm Beach, the Archbishop of Boston, the Archbishop of New York, Elie Wiesel, and the president and officers of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. This series also contains condolences from many people who had never met Perlmutter but who had admired him. There are copies and clippings of obituaries from around the country including the pages of an obituary book and materials from the Shomrim Society Memorial Services and Spiritual Breakfast, where Perlmutter was honored.